Basketball from a fans perspective
Published Monday through Friday
On the move…….maybe
Part of this account is speculation pure and simple. Phil Jackson made it known before he departed he wanted to trade Carmelo Anthony. I believed once PJ was gone that would be the end of the story, Steve Mills took on the role of interim GM however he didn’t back down from the position taken earlier by PJ. The Knicks them hired GM Scott Perry and promoted Mills to president.
There was still no changed in the position of the Knicks front office. The change has come from the player himself, Anthony appears to want out of Gotham City. The Rockets appear to be the ultimate destination however to consummate a trade its going to be somewhat complicated. It’s likely one or more teams might be involved to complete a trade.
“Being John Malkovich”
The title refers to a 1999 fantasy movie, John Cusak and others were able to enter the head of John Malkovich. This becomes the basis for our account as it becomes “Being Chris Paul.” We are crawling inside the mind of Paul and attempting to determine why the move from the Clippers to the Rockets. Word is he wanted an opportunity to win a championship and that didn’t seem possible with the Clippers.
The question are the Rockets an upgrade over the Clippers even with Paul in the lineup? The quick answer is no, I believe the Rockets despite moving a number of their roster remain a better team. Are they good enough to win an NBA Championship I don’t think so. Crawling inside the mind of Chris Paul I believe he left the Clippers for reasons beyond the opportunity to win a championship.
“Kenny said it”
I’m okay with the Lakers draft picks and trades. They get Big Man Brook Lopez along with a draft choice which became Kyle Kuzma 6-9 Utah forward. A trade for the 30th pick landed them Josh Hart 6-6 shooting guard and the leading scorer for the Villanova Wildcats. Through a trade they drafted another Big Man (6-11 248 pound) Thomas Bryant of Indiana. Finally the Lonzo Ball factor; I have concerns however I must trust Magic Johnson on this choice. If Magic believes this youngster can play at a high level I’m okay.
Nick Young a.k.a. Swaggy P. is history and this team is in a full scale youth movement. At this point we guess the rookies will remain we have no idea if they might become a package deal in a Paul George sign and trade next season. Kenny “The Jet” Smith said; “Old teams win championships not young ones” or similar words. Other than Lonzo the Lakers are not likely to add three rookies to their roster or they? On paper the youthful team should be improved over
2016-17 but not enough to challenge for a playoff spot in the Western Conference?
“You knew the job was dangerous when you took it”
In the middle ‘60’s an “adult cartoon” was added to the ABC Saturday morning lineup titled Super Chicken. Super Chicken was just that a chicken with super powers however sometimes in risking stunts Super Chicken would sometimes injure Fred his partner. Episode after episode Super Chicken’s response would always state; “You knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred.” Phil Jackson should make the statement to Scott Perry, Perry is the newly hired Knicks general manager.
Perry has been hired to replace the aforementioned Jackson and his duties will be to re-shape the Knicks. He will continue the effort to trade Carmelo Anthony and it likely to re-build this team around Kristaps Porzingis. Good luck Mr. Perry this job is one of the most difficult in the NBA, the Knicks have been a train wreck for several years. Hopefully owner Dolan and the New York media will allow you adequate time to build the team in your image.
